ウィカムの欺瞞（Wickham's Deception）

プライドと偏見 - 第16章

Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 16

手紙の中で、ダーシーは自分の行動を説明する。彼はジェーンが本当に愛しているとは思えなかったため、ビングリーを引き離したと認める。ウィカムに関しては、彼がギャンブラーであり、持参金目当てにダーシーの妹ジョージアナと駆け落ちしようとした誘惑者であることを明かす。

The next morning, Elizabeth was walking in the garden when she saw Darcy approaching. He was holding a letter, and he seemed determined to speak to her.

エリザベスは手紙を何度も読み返す。彼女はダーシーとウィカムを誤解していたことに気づく。彼女は自分の虚栄心が判断を曇らせていたのだ。

"Miss Bennet," he said, "I have written this letter to answer your accusations. Please read it."

Elizabeth took the letter, curious despite her anger. Darcy waited while she read, then left without another word.

The letter explained everything. First, Darcy wrote about Jane and Bingley. He admitted that he had advised Bingley to leave Jane, but he explained his reasons.

"I believed your sister was indifferent to him," he wrote. "She showed her feelings in a way that could only be perceived as calmness and composure. I did not want my friend to make a marriage that would be unhappy for both."

Elizabeth thought back to Jane's behaviour. It was true—Jane was always calm, always composed. Bingley could easily have misunderstood her feelings.

The second part of the letter was about Wickham. Darcy wrote that Wickham had been left money by Darcy's father, with the intention that he should enter the church. Instead, Wickham had gambled away the money and then tried to elope with Darcy's sister, Georgiana, for her fortune.

"He told you I refused him the living," Darcy wrote. "But the truth is that he refused to enter the church and demanded more money. When I refused, he spread lies about me."

Elizabeth was shocked. Could it be true? Could Wickham have deceived her so completely?

She remembered how charming Wickham had been, how easily he had won her confidence. But she also remembered that Darcy had never spoken ill of anyone else. Perhaps he had been telling the truth all along.

By the time she finished the letter, Elizabeth's feelings had changed completely. She was ashamed of her prejudice, ashamed of the way she had judged Darcy so harshly.

"I have been so foolish," she thought. "I allowed my first impressions to blind me to the truth."

But it was too late. Darcy had left, and she might never see him again.

Elizabeth prepared to leave Hunsford and return home. Her visit was over, but the changes in her heart were only beginning.